29 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
Hello, readers!
I’m heading to my sister’s tomorrow for a nice weekend. I won’t be posting my spiritual Saturday and normally don’t post on Sunday.
I just wanted to let everyone know.
Until next time…
Dave
29 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in Funny Friday
28 Thursday Jun 2018
Posted in Thinking Thursdays
Tags
Books, Documentaries, Keto, Learning, Movies, Netflix, Weightlifting
This week is a holdover week for weightlifting. I’m continuing to hit weights and two-a-day cardio sessions but have made some adjustments. My cardio will be executed this time around on the elliptical.
I learned that my body is not a big fan of carbs during the last 8-week trainer I just completed. The last week of the program is where I had my big losses, and this is exactly when I was down to very low carb amounts (less than 50 grams a day). Subsequently, I’m looking into KETO and other low-carb diets to see how these will affect my muscle growth. Right now, I’m only interested in maintaining the muscle I have and reducing my body fat from 36% down to about 15%. The KETO diet appears to be a solution to my dilemma.
I’ve also been investigating some local sites who can provide accurate body fat measurements and I found one today! It costs 115.00 for the initial visit and 95.00 for subsequent visits. BINGO!! I’m going to set one of these up next week to get a good baseline before commencing my next transformation routine. The reason for spending some money on this is that my entire meal plan is based on accurate weight and body fat measurements. Without these, I’m just guessing. More to follow on this front, folks.
Books:
Classes:
Documentaries:
Fun:
Workout Routines and Other Weightlifting Knowledge:
Kaged Muscle is run by CEO Kris Gethin. This website provides workout routines, supplements you’ll need, nutrition advice and a whole lot more. I am currently working through the 8-week hardcore trainer.
For access to every supplement on the market, access to the top trainers in the world, and also gain access to their training routines, this is the one-stop, shop for anything related to fitness.
Well, that’s it for this week folks! I hope some of this information has been helpful to you.
Until next time…
Dave
27 Wednesday Jun 2018
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
“The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.” – John F. Kennedy
Boy, is this a good one!
When I was studying for a Doctorate, I truly began to realize how true this and other statements are about our limited knowledge in so many fields. When we discover something new, we begin to discover more avenues to follow and begin to discover there is a lot more to understand. It’s almost like running down a never-ending rabbit hole, much like the one in Alice of Wonderland. The key difference is the rabbit hole only leads to other ones, and other ones, ad infinitum.
I think we just need to understand that this seeking will never end. There will always be something more to know, more to apply, more to do. It is never ending because with each new discovery, more doors open in other fields, more doors open for commercial application, and more doors open to refine the idea just discovered.
Subsequently, science needs to keep seeking to understand that it needs to seek some more only to understand that this answers this question and presents ten more. We need science, but science will never discover the truth about our reality. Truth is only experienced. Truth is known when we see it. Truth is unchanging. When you find the truth, you don’t need to continue looking. Truth just is.
Our search for knowledge also concerns other aspects of our lives. Think about happiness for a moment. Are you happy? If not, why not? Happiness is a state of mind—an attitude. You either are happy, or you are not happy. Happiness, like truth, is within. We must learn how to be and nothing more.
Until next time…
Dave
26 Tuesday Jun 2018
Posted in Ted Talk
Tags
Put your thinking caps on folks and join our speaker on a trip to the future!
This was a really good one!
Until next time…
Dave
25 Monday Jun 2018
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Goals, Mental, Physical, Social, Spiritual, Systems and rituals, Your "why"
“Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen… yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.” – Bradley Whitford
I’m going to give you some “inside information” about how I tailor my life. From all of the readings I have done, I believe there are four areas of life: Physical, Mental, Spiritual, and Social. Going forward I’ll be discussing my efforts in each of these areas, along with my goals. Then you can keep me honest!
Before getting into that (below), I’d like to say that you will only get the things you want in your life by going after them in a thoughtful and systematic way. ACT! You won’t get anything if you sit on your duff and dream about it. You have to get up, get moving, and do something! Before you commence work in any area, however, really understand why YOU want to do it. Never pursue a goal that someone else is doing or someone wants you to do. You pursue the goals you want to but understand why you want to achieve it. The WHY is really important. The WHY will help you pay the price your goal requires.
Physical:
My goal is to get my body fat down to 15% by year’s end.
My last weigh-in was this morning: 225 lbs.
I have a scale that I use to calculate body fat. It says: 36%
I just finished the Kris Gethin 8-week Hardcore trainer yesterday and lost 20 lbs. I weighed 245 lbs when I started and probably upward of 45% body fat.
This week will be a maintenance week to recover a bit and then it’s off to the races next week with another program. This one will be another Kris Gethin workout called 4 weeks to shred. I wanted to change up the routine a bit and this workout will do nicely.
Until I hit my target, my workouts will be concentrating on either weight loss workout routines or transformation routines.
Wish me luck!
Mental:
My goal is to finish 12 online courses by year’s end. I am at 6 so far. I finished the Udemy Non-fiction writing course last week. Still working on Public Policy and Learning How to Learn.
I also want to read 36 books this year. I’m at 17 so far.
Spiritual:
My goal here is to finish my discourse by year’s end, read my Bible daily, Meditate/Pray twice a day, and keep a dream and gratitude journal. All of this is on track so far.
I am participating in a workshop in Canada, another workshop here in Michigan in September, and already served on a panel and gave a talk at our spiritual center in February.
Social:
My goals are to build my readership to 500 by year’s end. I’m currently at 368! If you know anyone that would benefit from my blog, please send them my way!
I am also going to a comedy show with my Sister this weekend in Detroit and enjoy interacting with folks at both gyms I go to (Planet Fitness and Cutting Edge).
Well, that’s my week folks! I hope you have a terrific week!
Until next time…
Dave
23 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
“When something appears to go wrong, look for the lesson in it for you instead of finding fault with anyone else or even yourself.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul
Things go wrong. We put the best plans in place. We have the right tools. We have the time allocated. Then, things go wrong.
So many variables. So many things to weigh and measure. So many things.
When things go wrong, it is easy to get upset, blame others, blame ourselves, or just blame lady luck. What if there was a lesson in every experience? Why waste time on emotions or play the “blame game”?
Have you ever run out of gas? You’re cruising along, everything is on track, and beep, beep, beep, the gas gauge begins blinking and the closest gas station is a long way away.
First reaction: I can’t believe my ___ forgot to fill up the tank. I told ___ to do it yesterday.
OR: I can’t believe I forgot to fill up the tank.
Lesson: Pay attention and slow down.
Have you ever had one of those days where you had one accident after another? I had one of these days a few months back. The first was breaking a coffee cup. It was totally accidental. I was reaching for something on the counter-top, I wasn’t paying attention, and CRACK! A little later that day I was walking up the stairs with my laundry and didn’t lift my foot up far enough crunching my toes into the step above—OUCH!!! The final one was when I dropped a letter on the floor, picked it up from under the table and misjudged the edge of the table. You guessed it—BAM! I smacked the back of my head on the bottom of the table as I was lifting my head. At that moment, I stopped. I waited. I reset. The lesson: Pay attention to what you are doing and slow down.
This is just one example. Sometimes the lessons are very simple. At other times, they are harder to figure out. The key is to really look. The lessons are there. Whatever your lesson is, it is waiting for you to discover it and learn from it. If you do, you’ll find that your life will run just a little smoother.
We all have crazy days, where our minds are spinning at all the things on our plate. These are the days to pay attention and slow down. What’s the added lesson here? Learn how to say no, plan your days ahead of time, and do not overfill your day with too many things. You really don’t need to get as much done in a day as you think, and the overwhelm you’re feeling is normally because you tried to wing it, forgot about planning anything, and avoided being mindful about your calendar.
I hope all of you are enjoying a well-deserved weekend with your family. I’m enjoying the wonderful weather today in Michigan, just got back from a great cardio routine and some time in the gym’s sauna, and about ready to begin another session of learning at Hillsdale.edu.
I wish you well today! Enjoy your time off, enjoy time with your loved ones and pets, and hope you take some time to really savor how great this life is.
Until next time…
Dave
22 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in Funny Friday
“Some people just have a way with words, and other people … oh … not have way.” – Steve Martin
Hope you all had a terrific week!
Now, to the weekend!!!
Until next time…
Dave
21 Thursday Jun 2018
Posted in Thinking Thursdays
Tags
Books, Coursera, Hillsdale College, Movies, Netflix, Online Classes, Podcasts, Udemy, Weight Loss, Weightlifting
Hello, all! Welcome to another Thinking Thursday, where I’ll give you an idea of what I’ve learned this week, what I’m watching and reading.
This week has been tough. I’m in week 8 of Kris Gethin’s Hardcore Trainer and have literally lost between 1 and 2 pounds daily since Monday, considering the very restricted carbohydrate intake. Today, I’m only allowed a little over 70 grams. Not much. This is the equivalent of about 10 rice cakes. I’ve started the workout routine at 245 pounds and now weigh 229 lbs, with 3 more days to go.
My body thrives in a very, low carb intake type of diet, so I’m all in. This is the last week, then I’ll take a slight breather, raising my carbs up about 50 grams per day and reducing my cardio sessions from 55 minutes twice a day to 45 minutes twice a day.
I’m heading to my sisters this upcoming weekend to go to a comedy show. I’ll have access to one of the gyms I’m a member of while there, but don’t want to be in the gym the entire time I’m at my sister’s house (that’s no fun for her). Anyway, I’ll be lifting daily and hitting my cardio, but taking it a little easy, as I’ve decided to hit this hardcore trainer for another 8 weeks starting on July 3, 2018, when I’m back home. That’s about it on the weightlifting front.
Books I’m reading:
Movies I’ve seen:
Netflix:
Classes:
Podcasts:
I wanted to add this to my weekly list because I’m a big fan of Tim Ferris and Kris Gethin, who is currently one of the weightlifting trainers I follow on Bodybuilding.com.
Well, this is it for my week thus far. I’m headed to the gym to knock out Lower Back, Upper Abs, and Hamstrings today. Today is Day 53 of the Hardcore Trainer and I’m stoked!!
Until next time…
Dave
20 Wednesday Jun 2018
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
“The further you go in the spiritual life, the greater becomes the responsibility. And the greater the responsibilities become, the greater becomes the need for self-discipline.” —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul
When you examine your life, you find that most of your challenges and problems have arisen from a lack of self-discipline. Self-discipline is simply doing the things that need to be done, regardless of how tired or unmotivated you are. Self-discipline like many things in life evolves over time. As we evolve our expectations and goals also change.
These changes require more self-discipline than we needed previously. This process is almost like a spiral. Once we reach the very top of a spiral, our view of the world changes, we realize we can do more than we did before, and we commence pushing for the next plateau. I have always felt a shift within myself when this occurs. These shifts are like little internal nudges that push you on to do more with your life.
Over the years the gym has become my haven. I consider exercise and proper nutrition and supplementation more of a norm now than I did previously. When I’m in the gym I feel exhilarated, accomplished, and even a little special. I feel special because so many lack the discipline it takes to continuously push themselves to great heights of fitness and health.
Self-discipline is interesting because it tends to “bleed over” into other things. Those of you who have experienced this know what I’m talking about. Once you attain a certain level of self-discipline it tends to grow. You find it easier to do things you disliked in the past. You find yourself anxious to tackle the next challenge. You gain a little self-confidence in yourself because you realize that you can handle more than before because the self-discipline you have developed has demonstrated that what you need to do will be completed.
I think the key to all of this is understanding your “why”. We all do things that are good and bad for us. When you really analyze why you do what you do, you’ll see the “why” everywhere. It is easy to do things we want to accomplish when there is a big, fat “why” behind the activity. I interact with quite a few of my friends in this regard. One of these friends asked me to help him out with his fitness routine. The very first thing we discovered was his inability to stick to his routine. He was always “outthinking” himself, coming up with every excuse in the book as to why he couldn’t exercise today.
I think this is about anything we set as a goal or New Year’s resolution. We start out strong, but then realize that we just don’t have the discipline or drive to keep it going. I think this is because many are doing things or pursuing things because of what the “other guy or gal” is doing. Or perhaps they are doing something because someone outside is telling them to. Neither one of these solutions is effective.
You must set goals for yourself that really align with your “why”. What is it? Is exercise something you want in your life, for the rest of your life or are you just trying to cut some pounds only to gain them back again. Fitness is one of those things that is really an all or nothing venture. If you want to change your diet, your exercise regimen, your sleep schedule, etc., you must really want it. Your “why” must be stronger than your excuses.
This discipline follows you everywhere. If you want to learn how to do something new, you have to pay the price. You have to read the books, do the tutorials, interact with people who are already doing what you want to do and find out what they do. Self-discipline is about taking care of your responsibilities. If you want to live a long-term, quality life, you need to begin doing things that will help you continue to improve or at least sustain the health you have. Do you really want your body to degrade so much that you need to be helped out of a chair or walk around with an oxygen tank in tow?
Sadly, a lot of my relatives, who are all in their 70’s has succumbed to their age much faster than they should have. Their minds have slipped, their bodies are brittle, their eyesight and hearing are failing, and the flexibility of their youth is long gone. Today, there are folks who are at this age competing in bodybuilding competitions, marathons, even triathlons. That’s who I want to be when I’m 70. Do you?
Until next time…
Dave
